Mita Ririnui signalled last year that he would not be seeking re-election at the end of the year and so would be bringing to a close 12 years as a Labour Member of Parliament.

“As I watched the results coming in on election night and saw my party suffering a substantial defeat I felt that I had made the right decision to retire from politics when I did,” said Mita.

“Mind you I had been planning my exit for the better part of two years anyway, and I had encouraged some of my other colleagues to do the same.” In fact he had already identified a new role and a number of other ventures back home in Tauranga-Moana before his term ended.

Mita was elected to Parliament in 1999 when the tide rolled back in for Labour in the Māori seats and they swept out a number of New Zealand First MPs who had held them.

Prior to that he had been the Te Puni Kōkiri Regional Director based in Tauranga.

Mita held a number of ministerial posts outside of Cabinet in the Labour Government that held power for three terms, and although he lost his Waiariki seat to Te Ururoa Flavell in 2005, he came back into Parliament on the Labour list for a further two terms.

One of his roles was as the Associate Minister of Treaty Negotiations and he has moved into heading up the Treaty settlement process for his iwi. He also has a number of private directorships and a hobby farm to keep him busy.

Mita is enjoying his new lifestyle, “I get to see my pre-school mokos almost every day.” Over Christmas Mita and his wife Lindy made their annual pilgrimage to West Australia. “Lindy comes from there. We met when I was working in the outback and playing rugby. We head over each year to catch up with family and friends over there.”